Ray Charles: Merry Christmas Baby

Brother Ray I miss you so much.  Merry Christmas wherever you are.

Champion Jack Dupree: Chicken Shack Blues

The Champ playing the Chicken Shack Blues.

Elton John: Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues

Solo Elton John.

Eddie Bo RIP

March 20, 2009

• RIP Eddie Bo 9/20/1930-3/18/2009: One of the great legends of New Orleans has left us. Singer/pianist/songwriter/arranger Edwin Joseph Bocage, who is known to the world as Eddie Bo, passed away on Wednesday of a sudden heart attack. He was 78. Eddie was part of the formative 1950s and 60s phenomenon of New Orleans rhythm & blues, and remained active throughout his long career. Eddie cut numerous records for labels including Ace, Apollo, Scam, Swan, Bluejay, Nola, Arrow, Cinderella, At Last, Seven B, Ric, Checker, Chess, Telarc, and his own Bo-Sound imprint. Eddie wrote songs covered by Etta James, Tommy Ridgely, and Little Richard. His biggest hit "Check Mr. Popeye" coined a term for a particular beat characteristic of many New Orleans songs. In later years, Eddie joined up with fellow Louisiana musicians Raful Neal and Tabby Thomas and put out a beautiful record on Telarc called Hoodoo Kings. His influence and significance to the music of New Orleans cannot be overstated. For the Associated Press obituary, click here. For Eddie Bo's complete bio, click here, and for a great Wikipedia overview of his life, click here.

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Bukka White: Piano Boogie

The great Memphis bluesman Bukka White playing piano blues. White was known for playing the blues on guitar so this is a very cool treat.

Count Basie: Improv Blues

Here is a cool video of Count Basie and his four piece band doing an improv blues to end a TV show film in 1968. What I love about Count Basie is that it is rare to see him solo. He made his players look good, and was a comping machine. (in other words, he could play chords, and support his players so they would sound good) In this clip we get to see that not only could Count play the blues, but he could also play stride piano! very nice clip!

Count Basie Quartet - Blues
Uploaded by trombone-usa

George Shearing: Please Give Me Someone To Love

I love this old Percy Mayfield song. George Shearing is proof positive that Blues and Jazz players only get better with age! Rock on George:-)

George Shearing - Please Give Me Someone To Love
Uploaded by Delta_Mike

Blog Critic Review: Eddie Tigner, Slippin In

BlogCritic has a review of Eddie Tigner's, Slippin In. Tigner is one of those old bluesmen that is still out there doing it. He is 80 years young and when I looked at his myspace page and listened to his music he reminded me greatly of my dear old friend Jimmy Pryor. To read the review Click HERE. To listen to his music check out his myspace page HERE.

Oscar Peterson At Newport

A nice video of Oscar Peterson at the Newport Jazz Festival. Notice how he easily moves from jazz to blues in this piano piece. BTW, Peterson was classically trained pianist when he was a boy in Canada. I say this because you don't just learn to play piano by sitting down and jamming, but by years of practice, and a great piano teacher can do wonders for your technique.

Oscar Peterson RIP

The AFP has a press release on the death of Oscar Peterson. Peterson was one of the great blues and jazz pianists of all time. To read more about him Click HERE. For Oscar Peterson's website go HERE. For his biography check out his Wiki page HERE.

Ray Charles: In The Evening

The late great brother Ray playing some heartfelt slow blues. Man, Ray could make the piano sing!!

Ray Charles- In The Evening-1963
Uploaded by redhotjazz

Charles Brown: I Stepped In Quicksand

Probably one of my favorite blues piano players, Charles Brown doing a classic slow shuffle in the Kansas City blues style!

Ray Charles: In The Evening

Ah, Yes!!! Brother Ray, playing some very sweet slow blues! I miss Ray a lot, he was one of the great performers of any style of music he played.

Pinetop Perkins: Teeny Weeny Bit

Jan clued me in on this great video of 90+ year old blues piano man Pinetop Perkins. Jan says he lives in Dallas and this was filmed at Austin SXSW. It is a great video of one of the last Chicago boogie woogie piano players. Jan also said he sells his CDs at blues shows down in Dallas so if you are in the area and see him buy one! Also talk to him, he is a pretty cool cat. I met him up here in Des Moines back in 1993. I was lucky to open for him. I think that he is like a fine wine and has improved with age.

Patrick Hazel Live in Paraguay

Wow! Cool video of Iowa Blues Hall of Fame piano player performing in Paraguay!!! Very cool!! Patrick has played all around the world. This performance comes from November of 2005. Enjoy!!


Check out this video: Patrick Hazell live in Paraguay



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Marcia Ball: Louisianna 1927

a nice clip of Marcia Ball from the Hurricane Katrina Benefit. Marcia is a heck of a blues piano player, and she has incredibly strong hands. A friend of mine let her use his keyboard for a gig in Des Moines. This was a rugged weighted keys digital piano. after the gig he had several broken keys! Its not like she is pounded on it like Jerry Lee, but she can really attack the keys with her hands. Truly amazing!

Artist Of The Week: Otis Spann

Artist of the week is the great Otis Spann. Otis influenced my piano playing more than any other bluesman. His strong left hand, and speedy right hand make him one of the greats. Furthermore, he could play more than boogie. He played most of his career with Muddy Waters, and was Muddy's first call piano player. Otis also recorded a few albums on his own. perhaps the most famous was recorded in England with Muddy's band backing him up, and a guest appearance by a very young Eric Clapton. Otis died young he was 40 years old when he died of Liver failure in 1970. The videos are on the Google video bar located on the side of the blog. Sometimes the videos vary, but right now at least the first three are Otis.

Interview with Two Chicago Blues Pianists

Dueling pianists, which according to my sister is all the rage in Chi-Town, has a couple of blues cats that were interviewed in the South Bend Tribune. Barrelhouse Chuck, and Erwin Helfer will perform at the Tavern in Mishawaka. The interview is great, because it really explains how to learn to play blues piano. I learned pretty much the same way they did, by listening to recordings first, and then finding blues guys, and watching them play. I even got a chance to open for, and watch Pinetop Perkins play piano once, so I really know what Barrelhouse Chuck is talking about! Read all about it here.

Charles Brown: Driftin' Blues

Charles Brown was one of the great blues piano players. I really like Charles Brown's style, and I certainly have tired to pick up some of his licks over the last few years. This is Driftin Blues which is one of more popular tunes.

Oscar Peterson and Count Basie: Slow Blues

Two great jazz pianists playing the blues. Oscar Peterson and Count Basie.

Oscar Peterson & Count Basie Slow Blues
Uploaded by madafonka2